The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE

                                                              Media Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627
kwent2@unm.edu

July 7, 2009

UNM Libraries Presents Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez Lecture

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, best-selling author of  “The Dirty Girls Social Club,” will present a free lecture titled “The Costs and Benefits of Ethnic Identity as Genre in the Contemporary Fiction Marketplace” on Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 7 p.m. in the historic west wing of Zimmerman Library.
 
 Valdes-Rodriguez discusses the costs and benefits of ethnic segregation in contemporary American fiction, and poses some interesting questions. Is it warranted? Honest? Is it just? Is it legal? Is ethnicity the same as genre? Who gets to be a default human in American publishing? Why is ethnicity still perceived in the United States as a valuable marketing tool? What is ethnicity, and is it genetic or learned? What does such separation do to an author's career? How might an author avoid these pitfalls? How might an author exploit them?
 
She is the bestselling author of seven novels, including “The Dirty Girls Social Club”, “Playing with Boys,” “Haters,” “Make Him Look Good,” “Dirty Girls on Top,” and the upcoming novels “The Husband Habit” (July 2009) and “Three Kings Dates” (Christmas 2010).
 
The event includes a book signing with the author. The Summer Sunset Lectures are made possible by the generous support of the UNM Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.

###